Birthday

 It's Ellie's fifth birthday. This meant that we both had to go round to see her before school and wish her a Happy Birthday and see the presents that she opened. She was very excited, but not to the point of being silly. We dropped her off at school and headed home. The Silver Vixen had arranged to go shopping with Urban-Cub. The Gorse Fox had football.

He headed across to Worthing. The forecast was not encouraging and it was spitting with rain as he left home. Actually, it had stopped by the time he had arrived and got changed. It was a bit chilly though. He was picked in a fairly good team again this week. Again, it was a team that moved well and worked hard. Despite that, we lost the first game 1-0. Our other full-back had stopped when the ball went out. The problem was that the ref didn't think it had crossed the line and allowed the game to continue. The Gorse Fox tried to get across from the other wing to intercept but wasn't quick enough. The second game was also a 1-0 loss, but we can't complain. It was a good, well-worked goal. The final game (against a team that'd just won two games on the trot 4-0) we seemed to come into our own. We were 3-0 up until the final kick of the game, when the finally clawed one back.

The Gorse Fox thinks he has mentioned a medical emergency that occurred on the pitch a few weeks ago. The victim came in to see us and to thank everyone for their intervention and support and explain what had happened. Apparently, his heart muscle was fine, his valves were fine and his veins and arteries all looked very healthy. He was fit, and he had no warning signs. As he said "One minute I was enjoying a game of football and the next thing I knew I was in the back of an ambulance" (and that was 90 minutes later). It turns out that he had the same syndrome that caused Christian Ericsson to collapse during last Summer's Euros. The electrical impulses that drive the hear "short-circuited". He now has a form of pacemaker and defibrillator in his chest and is well on the mend. He won't be returning to football, however.

This afternoon, we decorated the family room ready to have a little family tea party for Ellie. We had several presents here for her, and it was chance to celebrate with Urban-Cub and Cousteau-Cub. 

Silver Vixen and Urban-Cub collected her from school and Cousteau-Cub arrived just as they were getting home. She opened her presents and having played with the items themselves, also decided that there was mileage in the boxes in which they were packed.

There were lots of snacks and nibbles, some scones, some sausage rolls, and some cake. We had a lovely hour or so. They have all gone home now. Silence has descended and we have just finished clearing up and tidying away the decorations